Templeton students raise funds for local cancer patients

Templeton High School students Carra Kruse, far left, and Emma Gray, far right, present a check in the amount of $1,500 to benefit local breast cancer patients through The Cancer Support Community Breast Cancer Care Fund. Accepting the check is CSC Executive Director Christie Kelly and Shannon d’Acquisto, a peer-to-peer group leader for the local non-profit’s Young and Young at Heart networking group for young cancer survivors. Courtesy photo

Thanks to the efforts of a group of Templeton High School students, a local charity organization has additional funds to assist breast cancer patients in need of financial assistance. Recently, the student leaders presented a check in the amount of $1,500 to The Cancer Support Community – California Central Coast Executive Director Christie Kelly for the non-profit’s Breast Cancer Care Fund.

Carra Kruse, a THS student and youth leader with must! charities, explained that the fundraising took place through the Culture and Spirit Initiative (CSI) organization, now in its second year on the Templeton High campus. Throughout October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, students sold items, garnered donations, and “pinked it out” at a home football game, their biggest event of the year.

The Templeton High School campus was decked out in pink throughout the month, and posters went up allowing students to write names of those who battle or have battled breast cancer. Students sold pink t-shirts, pink socks, pink tutus, and more. A little over $200 was raised the first year, momentum was gained and, in their second year the students raised $1,000 on their own through their fundraising efforts with Radiology Associates matching $500.

“This is our second year as a group heading the fundraising,” said Kruse. “We passed the bucket at the home football game, we “pinked it out” with decorations, and rallied some of the breast cancer survivors in our community to come onto the football field with us at halftime to be honored. Radiology Associates recognized the survivors with gift bags and flowers.”

With the help of must! charities, the Culture and Spirit Initiative kicked off in the fall of 2013 at Templeton High. The idea was to change the culture to be more positive and to increase school spirit, according to must! charities Executive Director Becky Gray. The concept behind it was to bring in a philanthropy component to the high school campus that gave students the opportunity to rally behind a cause or something they cared deeply about.

“must! charities invested a little bit of seed money to kick start this program at the high school, as a ‘futures’ investment, as they believe in investing in our youth and creating future philanthropists,” said Gray. “After looking into many options as places to give, the students discovered that The Cancer Support Community had a local breast cancer care fund that helped local women battling the disease.It’s been great to see these students work hard, get excited, and contribute to something bigger than them. It’s magical to watch, as it not only has a positive effect on them, but on their campus, the community as a whole, and even the world. These students are making a difference and are doing amazing things.”